News From ATX Festival

ICYMI: ATX Announces Opening Night with USA’s Queen of the South and Closing Night withUgly Betty Reunion presented with EW

That’s right, folks — ATX and Entertainment Weekly have teamed up for a multi-year partnership, and are kicking things off this June with the 10 Year Reunion of the beloved Ugly Betty, featuring cast members America Ferrera, Eric Mabius, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Becki Newton, Ana Ortiz, Tony Plana, Mark Indelicato, Rebecca Romijn, and Ashley Jensen!

The reunion will take place at the Paramount Theater on Saturday, June 11th at 7pm, and will be presented with Entertainment Weekly as ATX’s Closing Night event. (To read more about the partnership and full reunion announcement, click here!)

We are also thrilled to have USA Network return as a partner with the announcement of the premiere of their new cartel drama Queen of The South as our Opening Night event on Thursday, June 9th! The premiere will be held at the Paramount Theater at 7 PM, andwill be followed by a Q&A with creators and cast!

ATX Endorses Aaron Sorkin + “The West WingAdministration;” Denis Leary Returns with Rescue Me and Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll;
Plus, a Kingdom panel; new series from WGN and TBS, and more!

For those of you following along with our flurry of announcements this week, you may have noticed that we announced some additional programming yesterday as well, including “The West Wing Administration” panel with creator/EP
Aaron Sorkin, director/EP Thomas Schlamme, and cast members Bradley Whitford, Josh Malina, Richard Schiff, Janel Moloney, and Dule Hill. (#BartletForATX, obviously). Dates and times for all things West Wing are currently TBA, but make sure you check our programming page frequently for updates on venues and scheduling!

#ATXAlum Denis Leary will also return to ATX this year with a screening/Q&A for his sophomore series Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, featuring cast members Elizabeth Gillies, Elaine Hendrix, John Ales and Bobby Kelly, AND a special Rescue Me reunion, with fellow creator Peter Tolan and cast members Callie Thorne, Andrea Roth, Michael Lombardi, James McCaffrey, Adam Ferrara, Larenz Tate, and Lenny Clarke. (Additional cast TBA.)

AT&T AUDIENCE Network will join ATX for the first time with a panel for their original series Kingdom on Thursday, June 9th (time TBD), featuring a discussion with creator/executive producer Byron Balasco and cast members Jonathan Tucker, Joanna Going and Matt Lauria.

In addition to a previously announced screening of Casual with cast & crew, Hulu will exclusively present the Badgeholder Lounge at this year’s festival, which will be located on the second floor of the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel (ATX headquarters).

Badgeholders will be able to relax and recharge between panels and screenings from Thursday 6/9 – Sunday 6/12, while engaging with Hulu’s original series and extensive library of content, including “Fargo,” “The Shield,” “Ugly Betty” and “UnREAL,” to name a few, which will all have panelists at #ATXTVs5. Additional details on the lounge will be announced closer to the festival, so stay tuned!

The Ultimate GAME OF THRONES Experience presented by HBO, ATX, and Alamo Drafthouse on 4/24

Austinites! For our last year-round event pre-festival, we’re teaming with our friends at HBO and the Alamo Drafthouse to bring you the Ultimate Game of Thrones Experience, plus a secret screening of the season six premiere! To make your way through Westeros (ATX-style), make sure you have 3-6 team members (each must RSVP individually) and a fully charged cell phone. RSVP now, and you’ll receive additional details one week prior to the event!

NEW Fast Pass Lottery, Badgeholders Upgraded to FOUR (4) Total Fast Passes, and Day Wristbands available closer to festival!

Having taken into consideration the incredible amount of thoughtful feedback submitted by all of you (our amazing badgeholders) who attended last year’s festival, we’re excited to announce some BIG updates to our Fast Pass system — and hope you’ll be excited to give them a try!

This year’s Fast Pass system will include a lottery selection process, as well as FOUR (4) total Fast Passes for Weekend Badgeholders (rather than three). Once our full schedule is released in Mid-May and badge codes are sent out by Prekindle, badgeholders will now have 48 hours to submit their top eight (8) event choices in order of preference.

Once 48 hours have passed, the system will close (temporarily), and badgeholders will be assigned four (4) Fast Passes via random selection. Please note two important things:

Whether you submit at the beginning or end of this 48-hour window, ALL submissions will be randomized to ensure that all badgeholders have an equal chance at securing their top picks

While assignments are NOT guaranteed to be your top 4 choices, the system will prioritize as many of your choices in order of preference as possible

Once initial Fast Passes are assigned, badgeholders will still have the option to switch out or change their Fast Passes up until the event, capacity allowing.

All badgeholders will receive an e-mail from Prekindle outlining this new system in detail, but in the meantime, we have a handy new Fast Pass reference page for you here!

In addition, DAY WRISTBANDS will also be available following the release of our full schedule (Mid-May) for those who aren’t interested in purchasing a full Weekend Badge, or are only able to attend one or two days.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Wristbands will be on sale for $99, and Thursday Wristbands will be available for $49. Wristbands are non-transferable (unlike badges), and DO NOT include Fast Passes.

Heads up, creatives! Our friends at Sundance are teaming with YouTube to discover and support artists creating scripted short form episodic content for the digital space — and you could be one of ten (10) fellows selected to develop your story through their New Voices Lab.

To learn more about the Lab and how to apply, click here! Applications must be submitted byApril 25, 2016.

Badges still available!

As the festival nears, we’ll be continuously adding new programming and panelists, so make sure to grab your badge while you can! (Please note our full terms and conditions.)

Remember: we offer a 15% discount on Weekend Badges to all active college/university students and military with proof of valid ID. If you qualify, please contact [email protected] to receive your discount code!